Art or method of mining



Patented Dec. I7, I90I.

llo. 689,l67.

.1. E. coLEmAn. 'f' ARTUB IETHOD OFYIIIIIIG.

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* -l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HJOI-IN E. COLEMAN, OF SPOKANE, WASHINGTON.

ART on METHOD oF MINING.

" vSPE]5`ICA'J.]:O].\`|' forming part 0f Letters Patent N0. 689,167,dated December 17, 1901. Application filed July 26, 1900. Serial No.24.190?. (No specimens.)

To' all whom, it may concern:

Beit known lthat l, J oHN E. COLEMAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Spokane, in the county of Spokane and State of Washington,have invented certain new and useful Improvements inthe Art or Method ofMining, of which the following is a speciiication.

My invention pertains to the separation of bodies of dilerent specificgravity; and it consists, essentially, in agitating the mass of materialby water and lifting olf and carry# ing away from the mass by siphonicaction all particles of less than predetermined specie gravity.

The'apparatus by which the art or method is carried out may be variedwithin quite wide limits and is made the subject of another applicationof even date herewith,desig nated by Serial No. 24,907; but oneembodiment thereof is illustrated in the accompanying drawing merely forgreater facility of ex planation of the art or method which alone isclaimed herein.

Preliminarily, it may be well to consider, briefly, certain systems ormodes of separation hitherto proposed or employed and to point out whatare found in practice to be radical and vital distinctions between themand the present plan.

The system, art, or method here set forth is designed, primarily, for'recovering gold,

`platinum, and like rare or precious metals from placer deposits, thoughby no means restricted thereto. The more common or usual mode of workingsuch deposits is to wash or throw down in any convenient way the sand,gravel, clay, or earth bearing the metal wanted, causing the same to bemixed with and carried by water to a sluice or trough provided withrime-boards, ribs, or other form of ridges, or with pockets or channelsto cause a lodgment of the heavier matters. The pockets or gatheringplaces may be supplied with mercury, which, taking np gold or silver, orboth, holds the same and elects or greatly facilitates separation fromsand, gravel, and 'other undesired bodies or matters. Frequently thematters collected in riles are subsequently panned, passed mode ofeffecting separation and recovering Y the valuable metals consists inpassing them in a water current along a trongh,vthrough the bottom ofwhich water is forced upward at intervals, the force of theupwardly-mov- 'ing water column being nicely regulated with a view topreventing descent into collectingchambers beneath of any particles ofless than predetermined specilic gravity'. Still another plan consistsin imparting to a body of water charged with metal-bearing earth,sand,gravel, or the like a whirling motion, with a view to throwing off todifferent distances and into different receptacles thebodies ofdifferent specific'gravity, thereby'separating andgrading the same.plans and under all kindred systems of which I have knowledge the bodiesunder treatment are at all times in the midst of and subject to the fullcarrying force of the moving Water current or column, and hence liableto In all these priorw` be lifted and carried along asa mass withoutthat therevis not infrequently a downward movement in one portion of thecolumn and. an upward movement in another.-

, Through extended investigation it has been clearly' ascertained thatnone of the prior plans noted has served to effect that close, delicate,and perfect separation essential to the proiitable working of relativelypoordeposits or to the recovery of substantially all the valuable metalsof richer deposits.

The present plan diers from all others of which I am aware in that itsimply lifts off from the top or upper part of the body within theseparating-chamber those lighter bodies which are within the liftingcapacity of the ascending column, leaving the heavier bodies orparticles free to settle to the bottom of the chamber and to pass out ofthe iield of more violent agitation. All the contents of theseparating-chamber are or may be, however, subject to some agitation inorder to permit all the particles of less specific gravity than thosedesired to separate out of. and to part ICO - chamber E, wherein isplaced a separatingv` from the Valuable matters, such lighter particlesbeing 'also gradually-carried upward into the level of more activeagitation by the settling of the heavier particles, and consequentdisplacement of the lighter.

The foregoing is believed to state correctly the principle and mode ofoperation of the apparatus and is based Vupon observations made throughtransparent separating-chamber walls; but whatever be the correct theoryor explanation it has been clearly demonstrated that the siphonic actioneffects a separationvastly closer and more delicate than has been foundpossible with other apparatus or by other methods.

Referring now to the drawing, I will describe a simple apparatus forcarrying out the mode or art above explained.

A indicates a hopper `designed to receive sand, gravel, earth, or thelike carrying particles of free gold, platinum, or the like, whichhopper has at its apex an outlet-opening into a pipe B. One end of pipeB extends beyond the hopper and terminates in a perforated bulb orstrainer C, which is designed to be always immersed in or covered bywater, for which purpose the whole of the hopper and thebody of the pipeare arranged within a pit or water-chamber D. Pipe B passes through awall of the chamberl) to a second drum or` vessel F, or preferably two-such drums, the second one'being indicated by the letter G. Pipe B mayopen into drum F radially or obliquely, as preferred, the radialarrangement being, however, ordinarily.

The chamber F and also chamber G will preferably be of cylindrical form,though a polygonal section is permissible and in some cases advantageousin reducing the tendency to rotary motion ot the contents.

Beneath the main chamber F is a secondary settling and collectingchamber H, and beneath chamber G is a similar collecting-chamber I,either or both of which may be omitted at the option of the user.

From the top of chamber F there rises the ascending leg a of a siphon J,the descending leg of which may pass to any convenient pointsuiriciently lower than the intake to insurea current of proper strengthth rough the siphon when duly filled and startedin action. lThe limitsof siphonic action with water as the medium are of course wellestablished and understood; but it is not necessary nor desirableordinarily to reach or to approach very closely to this limit. Inpractice it will be desirable to render the level of the dischargecapable of variation to adapt the apparatus'to treatment of substancesof differing specific gravity. As indicated, dischargeyleg b may deliverits `stream directly upon the ground, into the bed of a stream,orelsewhere; but Iprefer to lhave it deliver in the'second chamber G, sothat the material passing chamber F maybe again acted upon.

deemed best It has been found advantageous to introduce the leg b intochamber G through the top, as thereby the water works down into andthrough the mass of material collecting within chamber Gand agitates orloosens up the same suiciently to permit the heavier particles todescend and the lighter ones to work to the top and to be carried oi bythe moving current. From the top and prefer'- ably from the center ofchamber G a second siphon K passes upward to a suitable height andthence downward to a level suitably below that of chamber G.

Chambers H and I are separated from chambers F and G, respectively, bytineV screens or gratings, which allow only small particles orfinely-divided matter to pass into the lower chambers. Hence thematerial collectin g therein will be found 'to consist mainly of thericher and more valuable matters recovered.

The action of the apparatus isV as follows: Hopper A is kept constantlysupplied with sand, gravel, or earth carrying the matters to berecovered, and from the hopper it is delivered into pipe B, into whichWater is drawn in quantity sufficient to make a iuid mixture and toproduce a fluid column sufficient to fill pipe B. From said pipe thematerial passes into separating-chamber F, in which it is subjected toagitation due to the movement of the water column, the heavier particlesWorking constantly downward toward the bottom of the mass and settlingin the bottom of the chamber or descending into `chamber H. From the topof chamber F the water column ascends to the top of the si phon, passingthence into the longer descending leg b,the fall of water in whichmaintains the inflow of water through lpipe B and uptake a. The waterpasses from the leg b to an outlet at a proper level, or instead ofpassing directly from the leg b of the iirst siphon it may, as shown, bedischarged into a second chamber G, and from said chamber G by a secondsiphon. By properly determina ing the height of the ascending leg or therelai tive lengths of the ascending and descending legs of the siphonthe strength of the current through the apparatus ,may be accuratelygaged andmade constant, and herein resides lthe great value andsuperiority of the mode of action described, since the apparatus canoperate only when there is a full column of water, and must then actwith absolute uni; formity so long as the relative lengths of thesiphon-legs remain unchanged. In this way after once properly adjustingthe apparatus it is automatic and unvarying in its action, provided onlythat the hopper be properly supplied and the Water-supply be maintained.No claim is made herein to the apparatus per se. t

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is A 1. The art ormethod of effecting separation of bodies of dilerent speciic gravity,which loo consists in mixing vthe same with'a suitable liquid, agitatingthe mass, and applying suction to the upper part of the mass by means ofa Siphon, the intake and outlet of which are located at such relativelevels as to cause the Siphon-current to carry 0E al1 matters of lessthan predetermined specific gravity and to leave behind all others.

2. The art or method of separating bodies of differing yspecificgravity, which consists in continuously delivering into a tight cham-vber at a point above its bottom, a supply of the matters to be treatedand a supply of liqnid, and maintaining a iow of liquid .from the upperpart of said chamber by siphonic action. n

3. The art or method of separating bodies or matters of differingspecific gravity which consists,irst,in introducing the same togetherwith a liquid into a tight chamber and thereby'agitating a-nd renderingthem capable of -iiowing in a stream or column; and second,

in constanly drawing off fromqthe upper part of the mass the liquid andthe matters in sus pension therein, by siphonio action, whereby thecharacter of the bodies carried away is made directly dependent upontheir relatively slight specific gravity and consequent inca@ pacity towithstand the siphonic action,while heavier bodies resist such actionand remain behind.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specilcation in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses@ I JOHN E. COLEMAN.

Witnesses:

O. M. CHACE, WILLIAM W. DODGE.

